"Good morning," Regan greeted, standing at the door of Aurora's former apartment.
"Hi. How may I help you, please?" a young lady in red asked, unable to place his identity.
"My boss is waiting in the car. Please, follow me," he said, curtly.
"Excuse you. Doesn't he have a name? If he really wanted to see me, he'd have come to my door himself…"
It might be a she.
"Or herself," she added. "Pride doesn't let people lower their ego. Tsk tsk," she hissed, following him atlas.
She just realized that she had been blabbering without getting a response.
"Hey. Don't you add to conversations or you're programmed to say a few sentences?" she asked, stupefied.
She did expect him to say ill-mannered stuffs about his boss. That was insane.
Not to her surprise, Regan didn't respond. She went mute until they arrived at the car.
Weird people exist, she sighed.
Now, she was ready to face his lazy ass boss. She walked over and tapped on the window. When the window didn't open, she knocked simultaneously on it a few more times.
Finally, the tinted glass rolled down and her eyes settled on a handsome stranger in an all black outfit and a dark shade over his eyes with a magazine in his hands, staring at her, amused.
"What do you want to say, Ms. Alan?" he asked in a calm and measured tone.
God, his voice!
"I asked you a question," his tone went deep, snapping her out of her daze. No one ever dared waste his precious time and he was losing his patience already.
"You should let go of pride. That was it. So, what business do you have with me?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.
He took off his glasses, making a direct eye contact with her light brown eyes. "Please, get in, Ms. Alan."
Her eyes couldn't believe who she saw. How could she even gawk shamelessly at her best friend's husband?
She squealed, "Jeez! You must be Aurora's man. How come I didn't recognize you? Gush, I'm so sorry."
"It's alright. Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier. I'm Adrian Garcia."
"Aurelia Alan. I prefer being addressed as my first name, but you can call me any. I don't mind."
"I know all that, Ms. Alan."
"Okay then. Nice to meet you," she grinned, stretching out her hand for a shake.
His eyes flicked at her hand and looked away. "Just get in," he said, rolling up the glass.
"Oh no!" her jaw dropped, making him stop halfway.
"What?" he asked in confusion.
"Don't tell me that silly girl ran away. She's unbelievable! You know, she told me weird stuffs about you. And now, you're here to abduct me as a bait–"
He rolled his eyes in disbelief. "Stop talking nonsense. You can call her right now, she's perfectly okay. So, are you coming in or not?"
He left her a note while she was asleep; saying he had some important work to tidy up.
But who works during weekends? Such a silly excuse for leaving home.
It was only going to make her insecure. Still, he couldn't reveal his whereabouts.
"I forgot you dislike noisy environments. I'm sorry," she pouted, opening the backdoor and sat down quietly.
Dislike was an understatement.
He didn't bother asking how she knew that because he knew it was no one other than his crazy wife.
God knows how many other things she had said about him.
"There's no difference between you ladies," he scoffed. The endless talks and apologies, curiosity and their crazy personalities.
Regan started the engine and drove off.
…
The car stopped in front of a classy restaurant and they both got down, leaving Regan behind. Adrian led her inside and they settled at the VIPs lounge before placing their orders.
"Feel free, please. I don't want you to be scared around me, okay?" Adrian asked in his calmest, gentle voice.
She nodded. "Okay, sir."
"No formalities. Adrian."
"Understood. Same applies for me."
"Yeah. So, you should know much about Aurora, right? I mean, you're her best friend…"